The Experimental Cosmos

6. A New Normal

My feet land on the ground below and I look up to see Miranda chuckling at me.
"Oh god, you are such an awkward species!!"she says, in a surprisingly loud voice.

I clear my throat and mentally prepare myself for a minimum of 20 minutes interaction with a total stranger. Then, a black haired girl comes striding up to us, smiling, and I realise it is going to be strangers. Plural. Oh god...

"My name is Nebula-"
Before I can say anything else, Kalani lands on the ground with a muted scream.
"And that is Kalani-my childhood bestie."

Kalani stands up and waves, with a smile that is too big even for her, and Astha pulls her into a hug. If Miranda did that to me I would LITERALLY SCREAM, and I look uncertainly at her, but we both break into a laugh when we realise that she was dreading it as much as I was.

I guess being from the Reticence doesn't make us that different- we are all people after all.

We start towards our dorm, and as I near the door I spot something that makes me want to turn and run in the opposite direction, and Kalani makes minute gagging noises beside me.

Beside us I catch Astha and Miranda exchange an awkward glance, and words suddenly flow out from my mouth with surprising ease.

"If that look was about our room mates, we'll, they're from the inside, so we already know. Also, I would REALLY advise you to stay away from them for your mental sanity."

Aastha smiles and me and says, "Thank god. I thought I was gonna have to be the bearer of bad news."

Kalani opens her mouth, but before words can come out, we are hit with the smell of bathroom freshener-level strong perfume, and we all turn our heads to see standing before us the literal personification of EXTRA,
Cherry Heights.

The top of her uniform is tied into a knot at the front, cutting off the edge just at her belly button, and her track pants have a crystal "C" on them. Her hair is in a half bun, the free part curled and definitely hair-sprayed, and her lips are almost dripping with cherry pink gloss. She is the one everyone thought was actually from the Outside, and was swapped accidentally at the hospital.

But just as we think our nightmare is over, we spot a pair of hands grabbing the shoes that caught our attention in the first place-the gold plated emblem on the black boots could only be made by one person--Bella, the daughter of Reticence's art mafia, and the heir to her mystery business.

You know why Cherry is actually tolerable than Bella? Because Cherry is unpolished enough to ignore, but Bella's charm flows enough to blind you to her manipulative and evil ways. Cherry knows what ticks someone off, but Bella knows what keeps them on her leash.
And together, they actually get under your nerves really quick.

As we stride into the dorm, Bella catches hold of my arm, her honey-blonde hair cascading down her shoulders and onto my wrists as she leans forward and makes me trip back into the wall. Then, as I struggle to regain my balance, she smirks and walks off, but Miranda blocks her path and semi lunges at her, but Bella doesn't fall -
She raises up two fingers to her forehead in a mock salute and saunters off, Cherry trailing behind her.

The dorm has bunk beds lining both opposite walls, and bathrooms at both ends. Kalani and I choose a unit at the very back, and Miranda and Astha are too close to the main door for our comfort. Finally, we reach an agreement and plonk our bags onto two units somewhere in the middle of the huge dorm, and just as we freshen up, the speaker system in our room crackles to life, ordering all initiates to gather in the dining hall for lunch.

As soon as we enter the dining hall, two sets of arms frantically wave at us from a table. I break into a grin when I realise that they are Jay and LC's, who are sitting with two other boys I've never seen before. I look over at Kalani, but judging by her expression, she has no idea who they are either.

"You know them?" Miranda asks, but as soon as I turn and see the mischievous sparkle in her eyes, I see that is was a rhetorical question.

"We live across the street.", I say, staring hard into her eyes, until she shakes her head and starts walking towards their table.

Soon, we have all introduced ourselves and are stuffing our mouths with blueberry cupcakes. It turns out, the two boys are Louis and Rudy, who had both actively taken up journalism in school, and are frenemies but friends more than enemies.

Also, Louis was called "lime" in school because of his shockingly yellow hair, and that Rudy was one of the main name callers, his hair being curly brown.

Now, the bad news - the boys share their dorm with Mike, aka, Cherry's boyfriend and the male personification of extra.

I always thought it was really fake how in the movies they showed a large gang of boys and girls sitting together at lunch on the first day in a new establishment, but here we are.

I think if we let someone in just a bit and be genuine (but VERY guarded, obviously) you actually do experience lots of new friendships.

Just as we finish lunch and start to head out, we hear a fight break out in the hall.

"Yes, I was the one who stole your art idea! Because I hate you and you are PATHETI-"

CLANG!! The plates fly as the first boy pounces on the one who was shouting, and as everyone watches in awe, Mr. Jerry enters the hall with a syringe, and the truth hits everyone in the hall like a hard slap-

The trial of truth has officially begun.

And the mystery mounts! Don't forget to keep following the story if you like it because I promise you all- there is a lot more to come.